10 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
By Hannah Healy
Updated June 28, 2018
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10 Ways To Use Apple Cider Vinegar. I’ve mentioned many times on my facebook page how great raw apple cider vinegar is for your health. However, almost every time I post about it, a reader asks how to use it. Apple cider vinegar can be used for so many things, find out the 10 best ways to use it….
It seems to me that a lot of people have heard that ACV is good for you, but they don’t quite know how to incorporate it into their lives. After all, it is vinegar, so you can’t just chug it straight from the bottle…yuk! This article will give you 10 different ways to use this miracle elixir!
The Many Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
But first, let’s talk about WHY you should be using apple cider vinegar. The benefits to raw apple cider vinegar are many. Apart from containing many beneficial vitamins and minerals, apple cider vinegar also contains acetic acid, potassium and malic acid. It can help regulate blood sugar, aid digestion, build muscle, clear skin, reduce bad cholesterol, prevent sickness with its antiviral properties, help remove toxins and aid in weight loss. It is also an alkalizing food, so it helps your body maintain good PH levels.
When choosing apple cider vinegar, you should always get raw (unpasteurized) with the mother like this one to ensure you will get all the benefits from it.
If you want even more ideas, this book is less that $4 and has a bunch of great tips on how to use apple cider vinegar for natural cures.
10 Ways to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
1. Drink 1-2 tablespoons ACV diluted in a glass of still or bubbly water with a teaspoon of raw honey like this (optional). You can also buy ACV drinks at some health food stores, I love this brand with added cinnamon–it tastes like apple pie in a bottle and it’s good for you too!
2. Use ACV in place of balsamic vinegar in salad dressing.
3. Add 1-2 teaspoons ACV to your morning smoothie. Start with one teaspoon and work your way up to 1 tablespoon. It is vinegar and can have a strong flavor, so be careful not to start with too much.
4. Use it as a facial toner to improve complexion and restore skin’s natural PH.
5. Use it to naturally treat dandruff.
6. Heal your sunburn quickly and naturally.
7. Use ACV as an all purpose cleaner. Mix equal parts water and ACV and add 2-3 drops essential oils like thieves (thieves is great for cleaning and can kill bacteria) or tea tree.
8. Use ACV to soak your beans, legumes or grains to reduce phytic acid and make them more easily digested. Simply cover a pot of dry uncooked beans with filtered water. The water should come well over the top of the beans (they will expand), then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of beans to the water. The acidic medium helps reduce the anti-nutrients in beans that block absorption of vitamins and minerals. To learn more about how to properly prepare beans, legumes and grains and for healthy recipes, check out my ebook Gluten Free Vegetarian.
9. Use ACV in your bath. Add ½- 1 cup to your bath water along with epsom salts and lavender essential oil for a relaxing and detoxifying bath.
10. Help treat yeast infections by adding 1 cup ACV to your bath or by adding 1 tablespoon to your water in the morning.
11. BONUS! Use it to help with heartburn. Contrary to popular belief, heartburn is a result of too little stomach acid…not too much. Many people find relief from their heartburn from having 1-2 tsp of ACV in a small glass of water right before eating.
Has anyone else had any problem with the ACV bothering their teeth? More specifically, did you have any problems with it eroding the enamel on your teeth over time? I had never had any cavities for 20 some years but after using the ACV, water, and honey mixture for about a year, I developed 6 cavities and lots of sensitivities with my teeth and so I quit the routine and haven’t had any more cavities since…. that was 10 years ago. Any input or insight with this or suggestions to be able to get the benefits of the ACV without the downside? thanks 😀
I made apple cider vinegar this past fall, but I pasteurized it and bottled it about Christmas day. it tastes very tart. I did not test it for pH.
before I pasteurized it, it was still making a new layer of mother 2 or 3 days after I stirred it. did I not wait long enough before bottling? it doesn’t seem to still be working after pasteurization. I was afraid of building up too much pressure in the jugs/bottles or afraid of it spoiling if I did not pasteurize.
I would love to make some unpasteurized next year, if I’m allowed to. what process should I follow? any advice from any of the followers of this blog?
I was tested for food allergies and was told not to ingest anything fermented like vinegar and am also gluten, wheat, and yeast sensitive. I have been avoiding vinegar but would apple cider vinegar with the mother help me? I would get yeast infections when I was younger (now 49) but now I am reading that ACV is good for that! Please advise.
Apple Cider vinegar will remove warts. Apply a gauze or cotton soaked in ACV apply tape, band-aid or wrap to hold in place. Keep moist for 5-7 days replacing as needed. Wart will be gone in this time in most cases.
Don’t forget to use it for your cat or dog’s health. Please research on your own how they benefit from Apple Cider Vinegar, as the details are long. I think that it also benefits horses as well.
I down it like a shot. My grandmother and mother swear by it, for losing and maintaining weight. I will see if it works for me.
I have a cup of green tea every morning and I put a slice of lemon in it along with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
Great post!thanks for sharing
As a mouthwash, and a gargle for sore throats.
Hello there 😉
We are living in the Philippines for half a year (1 month in now), and we both had some pain behind our eyes and were feeling tired for some days now and then. We found out the water we drank was purified in so many ways. 21 processes they wrote on the bottle.
We started to add about half a table spoon in each container of 1000 ml. We drink about 6 of them a day.. each of us.
Now our question is.. is that too much?
Best regards
Kristian & Stine.
Use to treat thrush when nursing. ACV 1:1 with very warm water applied to a rag, 3x daily. Use compress on breast. Wipe babies mouth, if infected, with same solution (cooled!!).
Put 2 drops of ACV in what ever your drinking. Really give you energy and good for better blood flow!!
I think I asked my question incorrectly. I’ll try again. Does ACV from the grocery store work just as well as ACV from a health food store. You know, just the same old kind I would put on a salad.
Most grocery stores now carry the Braggs RAW Apple Cider Vinegar which is the best kind. No need to go to health food store if your local store has it.
why use pasteurized ACV instead of just what I can buy at the grocery store?
You should not use pasteurized ACV. As is says in the post, raw ACV is best because it contains natural beneficial bacterias whereas pasteurized ACV does not because it is heated and kills the bacteria.
Exercise and sometimes extreme stress cause lactic acid to build up in the body, causing fatigue. Apple cider vinegar contains potassium and enzymes that may relieve that tired feeling. Next time you’re feeling beat, add a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar to a glass of chilled vegetable drink or to a glass of water.
ACV has saved me lots of money. I use Braggs ACV on my raw salads instead of dressing, in my cleaning spray, as well as part of my beauty routine (toner, mixed with honey for face mask, hair rinse, etc)
I need to get my hands on some of this as I ave constant dandruff and a flay, sometimes lumpy scalp.
I know this sounds silly but I am married to a water heater specialist and apparently ACV can be used to get rid of scale and lime deposits in water heaters….who knew!!!
Wow! That’s interesting, thanks for sharing Claudia!
You can use this stuff to remove moles. It’s pretty strong used neat! I could see how it would cause irritation. I got some ugly burns around a mole I removed with ACV. Just be careful before starting to use it, even diluted. Also, if it’s acidic, how can it be alkalizing?
regarding number 8. above for uses, after soaking the beans in the AVC overnight, I assume I pour out the initial water soaking water with the AVC and cook as normal.
Or, do I then add the same amount (1 tblspn per cup of beans), again to the water for cooking? Does anyone have experience with this application?
After soaking, pour out the initial soaking water with the vinegar in it and cook as normal–no vinegar needed for cooking.